


That Doesn't Mean Anything

by MelodyoftheVoid



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: :), Angst, Bad Parent Professor Membrane, Blood, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Zim gets introspective, Zim love cotton candy, love that headcannon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:40:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23125651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodyoftheVoid/pseuds/MelodyoftheVoid
Summary: It's been a few years, but that doesn't mean that you're still on my mind...
Relationships: Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 42
Kudos: 111





	1. That Doesn't Mean I Miss You

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of "Love You Anymore" by Michael Buble. Yet another idea that bashed my head in at 5am. Enjoy!

In the many years Zim spent on this horrible dirt planet, he’d learned to adapt to the finer points of human culture. Unfortunately. So here he was, walking along the sidewalk in an outfit that the kids would call ‘on fleek’ according to GIR.

If anyone were to bother and ask what Zim was doing near the school despite graduating the year before, Zim would simply tell them he experienced normal human nostalgia. It was closer to the truth than he liked.

Over the past few weeks Zim found himself revisiting many of his old ‘crushing places’. The reason why eluded him, but a small part of him knew the answer.

After graduation, Dib’s father had all but blackmailed him into going to college to study ‘real science’ far away from their hometown. Dib refused to tell Zim where out of fear that he’d show up, and all efforts by Zim to hack into the data base of the eldest Membrane failed somehow. And so, Dib vanished without a trace, leaving Zim alone with only his robot companions and Gaz to accompany him. Even she left soon after.

Not that Zim cared.

No, of course Zim didn’t care! The Dib was a hinderance to his mission, had been for years, and now that the foolish Professor sent him away, he was finally free! His calls to the Tallest went unanswered, but that barely mattered. At last he could destroy the scourge that called themselves humans.

Looking back Zim almost scoffed. He could just sit, do nothing, and the humans would wipe themselves off of the map. His intervention honestly made zero difference in the long run. Sure, it wasn’t the flashy end he wanted, but no other invader could claim his tenacity!

Zim glanced down at his phone’s lock screen, chuckling at the old photo of Dib in the chair. One of his proudest moments, reducing his nemesis to a pathetic mess that could barely move let alone stop him. He loved to taunt Dib with it just to see him squirm at his former useless self, providing him with endless hours of entertainment. His home screen on the other hand? He kept that carefully hidden from Dib.

One day during the summer, Gaz asked (read threatened) the two into taking her to the Bloaty amusement park that finally reopened after the lawsuits. Much to Zim’s surprise the day went fairly well. He quite enjoyed the cotton candy, forcing the Membrane siblings to purchase ludicrous amounts to keep him quiet. At the end of the day, they trio rode the Ferris wheel as the sun went down, watching the colors paint that greasy, cursed place. The image that greeted him each time he opened his phone was the selfie Dib managed to wrangle the two into taking on the ride, Gaz cracking a rare smile as Dib beamed into the camera. A faint blush spread across Zim’s face before he shook his head.

Useless nonsense.

Did he miss Dib? The years of military training and conditioning screamed at him no, an Irken invader formed no attachments, they put the mission above all. Still, his lack of motivation spoke to the opposite. Dib always came to stop his plans, which made him want to succeed if only to spite him. He was the one constant, the rock that kept him anchored to Earth.

Maybe he missed him a little.

A lot perhaps.

Zim wandered aimlessly, sending a brief message to the computer to keep GIR occupied at all costs lest he come home to what the robot was capable of when he got bored. A tree root that most definitely had not existed before broke his train of nightmares.

Spitting up dirt and leaves, Zim directed the full might of his fury to the perpetrator of his embarrassment.

“HOW DARE YOU TRIP THE MIGHTY ZIM YOU STUPID PIECE OF WOOD?”

Before Zim could slice the offending tree to ribbons, a swish of black fabric caught his eye.  
Closer inspection confirmed it was the very coat that chased him for almost a decade, even more analysis brought back the memory of this tree.

This was where Dib first let down his guard around him, a rare lapse in their cycle. Ever since, they’d declared that spot the unofficial truce zone. The duo rarely used it, too proud to give in most days. The few times they did lay under that tree, exhausted from the wounds they inflicted on one another, were some of Zim’s most treasured memories.

It made sense that the Dib would finally return here of all places. It finally put all the pieces in place for Zim too.

“DIB-STINK! COME DOWN HERE TO SPEAK TO ZIM!”

The wind rustled the tree, but no cries of indignation or threats of exposure followed. The human was playing hard to get huh? Well, this meant he had to break out the big guns. Zim cleared this throat.

“Dib, after careful consideration, Zim has come to an important conclusion. I no longer wish for the two of us to fight. I am aware that it has been… some time since we fought, but I want to make it official. Zim had time to think and I like it better when you are near. I am not sure what brought you back from your cool-edge but I hope you never return there. Any place that is capable of containing you is one I fear.”

The continued silence from the normally vibrant human caused Zim to grind his teeth. Of all the obstinate humans on this worthless excuse of a planet… He needed to overcome the fluttery insects in his spooch. He was an invader dammit!

“ZIM CARES ABOUT YOU EARTH-STINK! I-“

Zim stopped. This was stupid. The human was obviously ignoring him, no amount of shouting would change that. He thought back to one of GIR’s silly cartoons that the little menace forced him to watch. One of the characters had fallen victim to a spell that doomed them to eternal slumber, and somehow the heartfelt confession of the main hero broke it, leading to the spell lifting to the delight of his robot. What trite garbage.

Zim’s attention lowered from the branches to the base of the tree. Strange, there never was a stone here before.

Wait.

No.

NO!

That wasn’t possible, he would have known!

A million questions swirled in his mind as he stared blankly at the smooth surface of the gravestone in front of him. The date on its face told him it wasn’t too long ago, how did he miss it? What happened?

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t change the cold hard truth in front of him. Zim fell to his knees, trying to will the tears out of his eyes, failing miserably.

He whispered this time, wishing with all of his defective soul just to hear the words back, to see those amber eyes soften, for the horrible curse to be broken, to be near the human, his human, one more time.

“I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The absolutely wonderful art is provided by the ever so talented DionysusCrisis, you can find them [here](https://dionysuscrysis.tumblr.com).


	2. You Don't Need Tricks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on.

The months that followed that awful day blurred together. Zim already struggled against the futility of his mission, years of denial finally catching up to the irken ‘invader’. Now that the only being in the universe that took him seriously was gone? He could barely muster the energy to scold GIR most days.

No. He was Zim, he couldn’t just give up on his own existence. He just needed a new goal, something new to fight. His first mission was to find some answers. He was Dib’s nemesis, his fated rival! Whatever felled the Dib couldn’t be allowed to exist for another minute, he’d make sure of it. 

Tracking down the Gaz-human was fairly easy, her internet presence was inescapable and if Zim was honest, quite impressive. No, the hard part was actually getting said answers. 

Zim’s first attempt started off fine. Gaz returned for the high school’s reunion, giving Zim the perfect opportunity to speak in person although Zim would prefer to speak in any manner except face to face. Gaz’s temper was as short as she was strong; Zim would know. 

So there Zim stood in the nasty gymnasium, pointedly ignoring the worm-babies that attended school with Gaz. He barely knew the filth in his own grade. Gaz stalked into the room with all the enthusiasm of a lion in a two-cent circus. He immediately made a beeline for her, only to find himself embedded in the bleachers only a moment later. 

“DON’T YOU DARE COME NEAR ME! IF I SEE YOU AGAIN, I’LL SEND YOUR SORRY ASS BACK TO IRK.”

A hasty retreat soon followed. 

The second, third and fourth attempts barely fared any better, with security or Gaz handily sending him on his way. He couldn’t bring out his PAK weapons and risk hurting any of them. They were his only leads to getting answers. 

If the lack of answers weren’t enough, his base was malfunctioning! 

Drafts deep in the bowels of his lab, far away from any possible leaky window. Cupboards breaking, lights flickering, and worst of all: the TV barely functioned at all. GIR had to be quarantined to a soundproofed room to keep his cries at bay. 

Zim was reminded of a movie he watched once while spying on the Membrane household. He couldn’t hear the words, but from what he could see, the main family lived in a house that actively hated them and did everything in its power to make them leave. 

He rebooted the Computer twice, yet the problems still persisted. Except for the TV, thank the Tallest. 

Fed up with the situation, he found himself wanting to return to the tree. It would hurt but he wasn’t sure he could take the sound of shattering ceramic and the subsequent crunching of GIR rolling in it. 

Pulling on a jacket, Zim left Minimoose in charge of the house and any necessary cleanup.

The walk to the tree was pleasant, about as nice as this miserable planet got. A crisp breeze flung the piles of dead leaves into the air like loose confetti. It was almost Halloween wasn’t it? The reminder of the day of spooks hollowed the irken out further. That was Dib’s favorite holiday, excepting the one time with the nightmare dimension. 

As the wised oak came into view, so too did a familiar head of purple hair. Steeling himself for yet another beating, Zim slunk up to the grieving young woman. 

“Hello Dib-sister.”

Amber eyes so similar yet so different from her brother’s shot up at him, furious and rimmed with tears.

“You have five seconds to tell me what you’re doing here before I break you in half and grind you into taco meat for GIR.”

Wincing, Zim cleared his throat.

“The same reason you are here. To pay your human respects.”

“Excuse me? YOU,” Gaz crossed her arms, “are here to see my brother? Excuse me if I find that hard to believe.”

“Please believe Zim, I am not here to mock you or,” Zim looked to the ground, “him.”

Gaz dropped her aggressive stance confused. Oh, right, Zim had never used the word please around her before. Zim did his best to appear non-threatening.

“Fine. Now explain why you’ve been stalking me. My security team is starting to ask questions.”

“Ah yes, Zim wishes to know what happened to the Dib. Why was I not informed of his passing?”

“Why do you think? His obsession with you was half the reason this happened!”

Zim cocked his head to the side, eyes furrowed.

And then Gaz explained, and Zim’s world shattered.

He returned home in a daze, barely acknowledging the mess in the kitchen or the combined efforts of his two competent minions to contain GIR. Minimoose explained that the television had exploded, and GIR reacted about as well as expected. A wave of his hand and the computer brought out a replacement. Just as he was about to scold the computer for not doing so on its own, he swayed, feet unsteady as the weight of the truth drained the life out of him.

Minimoose pushed him towards the couch, hovering both literally and figuratively. Zim’s eyes fluttered shut, too exhausted to protest Minimoose’s concerned nyas. Distantly, he felt a blanket drag over him. The world faded away, only leaving-

 _-the acrid scent of bleach and medicine, the incessant beeping of machinery, a final bitter laugh before-_

Zim’s PAK let out a shock, jolting him out of… whatever that was. It couldn’t be a dream. Even his PAK kept that function suppressed. With a shake of his head Zim dismissed the image. GIR probably flipped to some melodramatic medical show in his delight with the new screen. 

But the visions kept coming. It wasn’t every night, but snippets of a pain that wasn’t his, muffled shouting, and a sense of bittersweet relief haunted his newly awakened ‘dreams’.

Out of sheer desperation, Zim tried to stay up for as long as possible, frightened of this new normal. 

That effort backfired horribly. The visions started to happen during the day now, only this time he saw Dib. Sometimes it was just the tail of his coat whipping around a corner, other times it was the gleam of his glasses reflecting a screen in the dark. The worst was the full visage of the human, arms dripping with blood, eyes vacant and staring. 

The lack of a proper recharge caught up to him, and now Zim blinked blearily at the timer in front of him. Apparently he needed to go into shutdown mode before his PAK forced him to blackout wherever he was standing. Great. Zim crawled into a nest of pillows and blankets, dreading the next few hours. As his sight faded to black, he could swear he could see Dib pull one of the fuzzier blankets over his shoulders, tucking him in to sleep with a small smile. 

_The landscape around him was fuzzy, all frayed edges like a watercolor painting. He walked in a random direction, wandering lost and alone. People passed by, voices indistinct and distant, almost appearing to walk straight through him. A sudden tug turned him in a different direction, led by an indescribable instinct. The feeling grew stronger as a familiar street came into view._

_He found himself in front of Zim’s base, purple walls and green windows warped by the strange effect on his vision. He reached out for the door handle with his hand and- wait, his hand had five fingers why-_

_“Zim?”_

_Zim shook as he looked up at the human at his door, now firmly back to his own perspective._

_“Dib?”_

_Zim reached out for Dib as the world started to fade away._

_“No- no don’t go please don’t, I can’t keep living without you. Please!”_

“DIB!”

Zim blinked at the wall, trying to process what just happened. It took him a moment to register the tears rolling down his face. Hefting himself out of his nest and trying to compose himself, he shouted for the computer. He had research to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked for this, so you got it. I'm not sorry. There'll be one more part so stay tuned.


	3. You Don't Need Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conversation long overdue, a resolution for both.

If hindsight was supposed to be 20/20, Zim would be legally blind. Due to a litany of PAK errors and what any human psychologist would charitably call a shit-ton of mental disorders and bad coping mechanisms, past actions served little purpose for him. Even short-term, basic conversations rarely stuck around in his head. Now that he’d managed to arrange his scattered psyche into something vaguely resembling a working memory after years of living on Earth, he felt ridiculous.

His own disdain for Earth media left him unaware of the haunting that was taking place in his own base. Stupid humans and their lack of subtitles. How was Zim supposed to know there was a thing in the house? For all he knew that lady at the end was just a random event that didn’t tie into the rest of the movie at all.

Shaking that thought aside, he looked at the billions of results on what to do with ghosts and remembered why he hated humans so much. Obvious clickbait only GIR would fall for cluttered the screen, something called an ooyah board? How were pencils supposed to help? What a bunch of useless garbage. If he wanted an investigation to go nowhere, he’d ask the local police. 

He needed expert help. 

Pulling out his disguise just on the off chance someone sees him, he set off for the Membrane residence.

Zim loathed to admit liking anything on Earth, but there was something comforting about being in the Dib’s room much to his chagrin. He’d snuck into the Membrane household many times in the past, attempting to enact various schemes while the human was unaware, but was thwarted every time either by the human’s insomnia or by a flailing limb trapping him until he managed to wiggle his way out, fleeing the scene in mortification. Now, he sifted through the packed-up boxes of belongings Dib left behind in the hope it’ll let Zim see him again.

Zim knew that he kept copious notes of his various investigations, mostly because he’d stolen them on multiple occasions to try and recruit the creatures. Those attempts failed but still, the notes were always thorough. Especially the ones on him.

Antennae twitching occasionally at the excessive dust in the air, he dug and tore through piles of pages on bigfeets and mothmen, vampire bees and fae, until finally he found it: “A Study of Ghosts: How the Human Spirit Can Transcend Death and the Forms it Takes” by one Dib Membrane. Zim smirked at the long and overly pretentious title. That was his Dib alright. He clutched the book close to his chest and made his way to the window before stopping. He didn’t have to leave just yet did he? 

Zim looked up at the faint glow of the star stickers on the ceiling, arranged in careful constellations by a younger Dib. Faded rectangles where posters and evidence once cluttered the walls. An empty desk where monitors used to track his every movement and where Dib once fused with that chair. Good times. 

Another box lay on the floor, labeled clothes. Zim couldn’t help but laugh at the contents; trench coats, at least eight of them on top of a handful of near identical shirts. Leaning in he could pick up the faint scent of a forest and some sort of smoke. The smell of Dib. Well, no one would notice if he took a few for himself…

From downstairs the clomping of boots signaled that it was time to leave. The odds of him coming up the stairs were slim but Zim wasn’t entirely confident in his ability to keep himself from murdering the Professor here and now. Gaz had to talk him out of it that day at the tree and the urge hadn’t left since.

Nimbly as he could manage with the new additions in his arms, he clambered out of the window, giving the room one last glance before slipping off into the night. 

Zim stalked down the street, gazing at the inky sky. He could see how the sight inspired his rival once upon a time. Of all the sights on this planet it stood out for its beauty, the vast reaches unknown to humanity, teeming with undiscovered life and conflict. A shame it was so often obscured by clouds or pollution. Unappreciated by the ignorant masses.

Once safely in the confines of his base, and away from that wretched scientist, Zim opened the guidebook took a deep breath, and began to read. For once in his long life, he’d follow the directions to the letter, he had to. The cost was too high if he failed now.

_Through my extensive research, I’ve found a handful of surefire methods to summon a ghost that tries to remain hidden or that you need to communicate with for a variety of reasons._

Zim laid out the stolen possessions he brought with him. For once his impulsive nature gave him an advantage! 

_The most common ritual involves a talisman, which can take the form of religious symbols depending on the culture of the ghost. Typically spirits of Christian souls do not respond to Buddhist iconography and vice-versa._

After locking GIR in his ‘special room’ with enough tacos to last a month, he carefully lit the candles he’d stolen from his neighbors’ years earlier, being sure to place them as the book specified. 

_But the most reliable way to bring a ghost out, is with personal items. Ghosts at their core are tied to the material plane by an emotional connection. This method is best used for ghosts with a known history so you can connect with them and show that you’re not a threat._

Folding the spare trench coat, Zim set it in the center of the candle ring, and began to recite the words, stumbling a few times over the unfamiliar pronunciation. 

Keep in mind the main objective of summoning a ghost, is to understand what their purpose is here on Earth. If you can do that, you can help them move on. 

The silence that followed caused Zim’s spooch to kick into overdrive. Did he miss a step? Were the words not right? Did he need to grab more items? Was all of this just a figment of his broken PAK and he would never see Dib again?

The sudden death of the candlelight snapped him out of his thoughts, a breeze whipped through the room and settled into a glowing orb. 

Zim stared in awe as the form of a human materialized from the orb in front of him, not quite opaque but not entirely transparent either. A black trench coat, wide glasses, and familiar cowlick nearly fooled him into thinking that it was his human, that the last month had just been a terrible nightmare. 

Dib’s blank white eyes brought him back to reality. 

The two rivals stood for an eternity, each unsure of how to proceed. 

Zim broke the silence first, a hushed “Dib” falling from his mouth like a prayer. He could hardly believe his eyes, yet here he was. 

A crooked smile broke out on the human’s face, shaky and uncertain. 

“Hey space-boy. Long time no see.” 

Zim could only blink back, marveling at how that old insult felt like home.  
Dib’s brow furrowed, likely still processing his current situation. 

“Zim? You ok there?”

Shaking himself out of his reverie, Zim tried to compose himself in front of his old dead rival.

“D-dib-stink. It is… good to see you again.”

The conversation might as well have been dead on arrival. The two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, each not sure how to proceed.

Dib went to clear his throat, but stopped midway, seemingly remembering that he no longer had a physical throat anymore. An annoyed twitch of his nose and a glare followed in an attempt to save face. 

“So… Why did you go through the trouble of summoning me? Come to gloat?”

That stung. Zim tried to focus on the mission he’d set. Answers, he needed answers. And to make some semblance of peace with Dib. If only for himself. 

“No Dib-smell, I wanted to get to the bottom of my ghost problem. And here we are.” 

Whoops.

“So it took you this long to realize that you were being haunted? I’m impressed. I thought I’d get away with it for at least another few months.”

Blood rushed to Zim’s face as he felt some of his old bravado returning. This was how Dib wanted to play? Fine then.

“Zim simply did not see a need to investigate. It was only a minor problem at first. Your cursed meddling in my superior brain was too far!”

“Oh. That,” Dib turned as his spectral form glowed a faint pink, “I hadn’t really meant to do. I’m still not used to the whole… you know. Being dead thing.”

“They were rather unpleasant.”

“I could tell. They weren’t exactly fun for me either. It’s not like I went through with it expecting to relive that night over and over again.”

Zim couldn’t find a suitable response for that. He was vaguely aware of the human taboos around self-termination, and he had once considered it when his cover was first blown. But for an Irken, it was out of a sense of duty. For humans? 

Zim shook his head. He needed to focus on the task at hand. 

“I also summoned you because I wished to speak again.”

Dib leaned back, incorporeal body lounging in midair. Skepticism evident on his face even without his amber stare boring holes into Zim. 

“While you went away to cool-edge, Zim understood more about himself. You were the one who always inspired me to keep trying to take over the world for all those years.”

Dib grimaced, turning his empty gaze from Zim as his shoulders tensed.

“Well then I guess it’s a good thing I died then. At least I did one thing right for Earth...”

“WHAT?”

Zim couldn’t help his outburst, how dare he think that! He needed to make Dib understand, think Zim! 

“Dib-idiot, that is not even REMOTELY close to what Zim meant! Are your brain-meats as dead as the rest of you?!”

Cold apathy settled over the features of the human. That was definitely not what Zim meant to say. 

“Well then by all means, enlighten me.” 

Zim gulped, this felt easier at the tree, without the added baggage of the current situation. 

“What Zim- I meant, was you treated me like I could do anything. Like I was a real threat.”

“Of course I did, you were trying to conquer my planet. What else was I supposed to do?”

Zim pulled his antenna, his eyes screwed shut at the painful sensation. Sweet Irk he forgot how dense Dib was when he wanted to be. He let out a quick huff, and locked eyes with Dib, steeling his nerves. 

“Dib. All of my life I’ve been looked down on. Both for my height and my…”

_A monster meant to win battles consuming two tallest in a rage, a failed invasion on his own planet, the loss of countless lives at his over eager hands, a mission given in a desperate attempt to get rid of him all sprang to mind unbidden._

“… failures. No one ever thought I was capable of accomplishing anything. But you always believed. Even if you wanted to expose me, you thought I was worthy of fighting. That I was worth something. Then you went away, and I couldn’t find you. Without you around, I wasn’t sure what to do. I had no purpose. I missed you. I missed us.”

Zim paced back and forth, wringing his hands in a desperate attempt to ground himself.

“And Zim only learned you’d died on accident! No one bothered to tell Zim that his only connection to this rotten planet was DEAD! Now I’m alone and I don’t know what to do!” 

A choked sob left Zim, and he froze in place. Simmering embarrassment burnt at the pit of his spooch as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

“Invaders aren’t supposed to need anyone; they’re the pinnacle of the empire. But then there’s Zim. The invader that fell for a human.” 

Nothing in Zim’s PAK could stop the flood of negative emotions, built up and kept hidden for years with no release. He collapsed down to the floor whispering the word pathetic on loop, not noticing the increased intensity of the ghost’s glow, nor it kneeling down to meet him.

“Hey Zim?” 

“What.”

“I always knew that you stole my cryptid notes. And when you planned to do something in my sleep.”

“Eh?”

“I had cameras set up you lizard. And,” Dib paused, aura flaring pink once again, “I wasn’t asleep whenever I trapped you with my arm.”

Zim squinted, vision still blurry. 

“What are you saying human? Telling lies to fool Zim?”

“What no! I just. I never thought you’d feel the same. I hated myself for so long, I was supposed to be the protector of Earth, to be the barrier against the unknown. We were enemies, meant to clash by fate for the future of the planet. I wasn’t supposed to have feelings for the creature that wanted me dead. When Dad forced me into college, all I could think about was you. A small part of me wanted you to take over so I wouldn't have to deal with the threat of the crazy house for the rest of my life." 

Zim puffed up a little, wiping away the remnants of tears. 

“Well of course you'd want me to rule over you and your planet. Who could resist all this?”

Zim imitated the movements he’d made during the florpus, striking an exaggerated pose in the process. A genuine laugh from Dib was his reward for the theatrics. He’d only gotten to hear it a handful of times, and now it felt like a gift from the Tallests themselves. Soon, both of them were laughing like nothing had gone wrong. For just a moment, all was right with the world. 

As Dib’s laughter faded, so too did his light. Leaning his head against Zim’s he murmured, “Can you do me a favor space-boy?”

Wide fuchsia eyes blinked up at him, searching for a reason for his change in demeanor. 

“Yes? Dib what’s wrong?”

“Zim, ghosts only stay on Earth as long as they can’t fulfill their purpose.”

Alarm shot through Zim as he watched Dib’s form grow dimmer and more translucent by the second. 

“NO! You can’t go yet; I need you here! Don’t you dare go!”

“I don’t want to go, but I can’t stay. Listen, please, protect the Earth for me. You’re capable of amazing things. You moved Earth across the universe by yourself, piloted planets-“

“Stole organs!”

“Impressive but not helpful. If anyone can help make humans better than they are, it’s you. Besides, you’re crazy enough to make it work…”

“I will. I’ll drive your parental-unit out of business with my inventions! Humans will be more impressive than any empire that the universe has ever seen!”

“That’s the spirit.” Dib’s form was almost entirely gone by this point, but for a moment his irises returned, molten amber shining with a bittersweet happiness. “Say hi to Gaz for me.” 

A faint, “I love you Zim” and Dib was gone. Zim was alone again. 

Even through the crippling grief, Zim felt lighter. Despite everything, despite each and every blow the universe dealt him, every mistake and tragedy he’d caused, he was here. Trusted to do something for the only being in the cosmos who’d truly known him. Loved him in his own way. 

And maybe in the end, it would mean something to the only person who mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sorry. I debated having a happy ending but. Eh. Where's the fun in that? I am sorry for the delay though. School and the quarantine really drove me into an state where I felt like I couldn't do anything... But I'm feeling much better now and hopefully I'll have something new coming soon! <3


End file.
